Did you try a gluten-free diet without consulting a doctor first? If so, why? If

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   Kenna McHughposted 8 years ago

   Did you try a gluten-free diet without consulting a doctor first? If so, why? If not, why?
   
   Gluten sensitivity is super popular now. We see ``Gluten Free'' or ``GF'' on grocery store shelves and labels on such glorified food. Most of us probably haven't a clue what ``gluten free'' means or how gluten food affects our lifestyle.
   
   

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   RTalloniposted 8 years ago

   Simply put, we have reduced the amount and may go gluten free without testing because we don't want to do the testing.
   
   A little more to the story, long before I heard the term GF I called certain kinds of bread gut glue. Then I learned about gluten and how in the 1950s scientist developed a high gluten wheat. Then I learned more about gluten and decided we were not designed to eat that much it.  When we don't eat it we feel better.  That's a good enough test for me. 
   
   Longer story, I suppose I should write a hub.  Going to see if you've written one on the topic.

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      Kenna McHughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I never took the test either, but our country's "normal" food supply has been tampered with as you mention, so I have just about cut all of it out of my diet. Yes. I did write a hub about the gluten-free diet.  When you have yours written and posted,

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      Express10posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I went through hell with DH/Dermatitis Herpetiformis. My GP educated herself on this because she felt bad that she couldn't figure out my problem until after the allergist did. She has since told me gluten can cause problems with your thyroid.

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   nochanceposted 8 years ago

   It used to be some people would just feel bad after eating certain foods and knew to stay away from them.
   
   Now armed with the knowledge that gluten sensitivity is a thing it gives people a reason why some foods make them feel bad.
   
   One of my college roommates had a gluten sensitivity. She tested negative for celiac but she would throw up every time she had waffles and break out in hives if she drank beer.
   
   Now she knows it's not the waffles fault, she just has to find alternatives.

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      Kenna McHughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I am sensitive to wheat, not gluten. I stay away for wheat. I feel for those who are truly sensitive to gluten.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 8 years ago

   I get really angry at people who give up gluten without testing. 
   
   Most people who have problems with bloating have a FODMAP sensitivity, not a gluten sensitivity, and there's no need for them to give up gluten.
   
   If you are genuinely gluten intolerant you have a serious illness - for healthy people, there is no reason to avoid it.   Gluten-free products in the supermarket often have a lot of other UNHEALTHY ingredients added to give them more bulk or flavor.  Gluten-intolerant people have to live with that because they get SO sick when they eat gluten, but there's no reason why ordinary people should.

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      Kenna McHughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Good point. I reviewed a very informative and well-written book about that issue. http://hubpages.com/health/Gluten-Free- … ative-Book

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   Express10posted 8 years ago

   I did so out of sheer desperation from Dermatitis Herpetiformis which is the medical term for what is more commonly called "gluten rash." I have an actual condition, not something that is "super popular now." While there are some people who simply want to avoid gluten, there are some who have to such as those who have Celiac Disease. My case was especially horrific and I went to several doctors before I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity by an allergist. I have been tested for Celiac disease and it came back negative but the biopsy for DH was positive.
   
   It should be understood by those who don't think there are people with actual sensitivities to gluten that many doctors have no knowledge of or experience with gluten sensitivities and the range of effects it can cause. When you think of the thousands and thousands of diseases humans can have that makes sense but it made me feel no better because I wasted a lot of time and money seeing doctors who refused to simply say, I have no idea what is going on. They even incorrectly prescribed me antacids and antihistamines that did NOTHING and could have actually contained gluten!
   
   Further, humans are creating and tinkering with foods more and more often. The wheat and grains we eat today are not the wheat and grains our relatives ate just a few generations ago! Also, anyone can develop an allergy or a reaction to nearly anything at any point in their life. I didn't understand this until DH happened to me.
   
   GF free foods are glorified junk foods and anyone eating them needs to understand this. Many are rice based and rice is not so good for your body and also has arsenic in it. So, you are trading your particular gluten reactions for increased likelihood of weight gain, diabetes, and more arsenic consumption, to avoid gluten when there are much better and healthier ways of avoiding gluten.
   
   After extended suffering from head to toe DH, and encountering doctors with no remedies, I desperately tried to consume it and "get used" to it again. I accomplished this with results that I'm about 75% happy with. I do not break out in the gluten rash anymore but I do itch, not head to toe, but I do itch. Honestly, if I posted a picture of my worst DH rash, admin would take it down. So, I take the itch and am moving on with my life. The rash is something I am so happy to be rid of, it was more than extremely itchy, painful, and ugly. I cannot emphasize that enough.

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      Kenna McHughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your post, and my heart reaches out to you. I am not familiar with DH, but I am familiar with trying to discover what is the cause of illness. You, me and those around us. I hope and pray for your happiness and health.

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      Express10posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks. I wish the best of happiness and health to you as well. To each his/her own, but I'd recommend that people only eat naturally gluten free foods and stay away from all the GF junk food offerings that seem to be growing by the day.

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      Kenna McHughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with the GF junk food, too much of it.

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   Jakes51posted 8 years ago

   Yes and no. I went undiagnosed for seven years before I really tried a gluten-free diet. I had the Celiac blood test done several times and it came back negative so my doctors insisted that I didn't have it. They got irritated every time that I brought up the fact that my grandmother had Celiac disease and told me that a gluten free diet wasn't necessarily. But, after trying literally every drug available for Rheumatoid arthritis, I gave it up on my own and felt worlds better. Haven't had a flare-up in over a year.

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      Kenna McHughposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Well done for finding a non-drug solution.  One can remedy so many health issues by simply changing one's diet.

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